Chandigarh, May 8 (FN Agency) Campaign for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypolls, which is going to endat 1800 hrs on Monday, was sort of lacklustre as National Leaders including the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah as well as Congress biggies like Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi chose to remain away from Punjab this time. The by-election was necessitated due to the demise of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary after collapsing during the Congress’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in January. The Congress has fielded Chaudhary’s wife Karamjeet Kaur Chaudhary.Ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate is former Congress MLA from Jalandhar West, Sushil Kumar Rinku. Shiromani Akali Dal-Bahujan Samaj Party candidate Dr. Sukhwinder Sukhi and BJP’s Inder Iqubal Singh Atwal were also in the fray. The byelection was important for AAP, which formed the government after winning 92 seatsof 117-member assembly but lost the Sangrur LS byelection to Akali Dal (Amritsar).
The seat was vacated by Bhagwant Singh Mann after he became Chief Minister. So, AAP is leaving no stone unturned to win the Jalandhar byelection. Mr Mann along with party’s National Convener and New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did roadshows in the last couple of the days. AAP’s ministers as well as MLAS have also been assigned duties for the byelection. Luckily for the party, police crackdown against ‘Waris Punjab De’ chief Amritpal Singh and his associates ended on a positive note last month with the radical Sikh preacher’s dramatic surrender after 35 days. However, an alleged obscene video of a Minister surfaced followed by a complaint with National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) alleging ‘sexual assault’ by a man, has put the party in the soup. NCSC has directed the State Chief Secretary and DGP for the investigation of the complaint along with an action taken report. NCSC has also directed to provide security to the victim.From the opposition camp, for the BJP, Union Ministers like Anurag Thakur and former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh have been actively campaigning. The party is seeking votes to strengthen the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the runup to 2024 general elections.
Mr Modi and Mr Shah, who visited the state to pay homage to SAD patriarch Prakash Singh Badal, did not indulge in the campaigning directly.As far as Congress is concerned, it was also dependent on local leaders. The party also expects to get a sympathy vote because of the sudden demise of the MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary. Though, Jalandhar is considered Congress stronghold, the party leaders including party’s State Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, the opposition leader in assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, former Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu and former MP’s son and Phillaur MLA Vikramjeet Singh Chaudhary were campaigning for the party. Also, Balkaur Singh, father of slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, was seen in public meetings asking people to not to vote for AAP candidate as the state government was not taking the investigation into Moosewala’s killing seriously. The SAD-BSP campaign was impacted by former Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s demiseon April 25. The party President Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a public meeting, said , ‘electing Dr. Sukhi will be most appropriate homage to the late SAD patriarch.”